10 Best and Worst Need for Speed Games

If you are a fan of racing games, I am sure you would not have missed playing Need for Speed (NFS) Game.

It’s purely fun and excitement at its height when you drench yourself playing Need for Speed Game.

Need for Speed has been around for quite some time now. It made its debut back in 1994. Ever since then NFS has evolved with time and has rolled out 21 official main series games, which makes this game one of the biggest gaming series in history.

Some have acclaimed rich applauds while there are others which have been criticized. Still the craze for Need for Speed Games lives on till date with millions of fans worldwide.

Here, we have featured 10 Best and Worst Need for Speed Games of all time.

Need for Speed, NFS is an action racing video game franchise created by Electronic Arts and presently developed by Ghost Games. The NFS games feature street racing and involve players to complete various types of races while taking on the local law enforcement in police pursuits.

The first title was released in 1994 and was named The Need for Speed. NFS is known for its thrilling cop chases and is regarded as the most successful racing video game series in the world. Till date, over 150 million copies of games in the series have been sold. In fact, NFS Game is rightly called as one of all time classics. It has evolved over time to suit current and popular trends.

The racing genre took a new dimension of these Need for Speed Games as they were packed with a plethora of exciting features. Some of these games were hot, and they were touted as the best NFS Game, while others were not so popular with gamers and were touted as worst Need for Speed Game.

Here, we have ranked Need for Speed game from worst to best and have listed 10 Best and Worst Need for Speed Games.

So, let’s dive in and see what the best and worst in NFS Games are.

10 Best and Worst Need for Speed Games

Worst Need for Speed Games

10. Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007)

Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007) tops this list gaining the title of the worst game in the series. Although ProStreet took players back to the track and also brought in realistic damage to cars, it immensely lacked the fun factor that is needed in racing games.

It did not include police intervention and failed to upgrade the realism of the driving. All this makes ProStreet the worst NFS Game of all.

9. Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998)

Next, in the list comes Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. It is the first installment of the Hot Pursuit franchise and allowed you to be both the felon and the police.

Although Hot Pursuit focused on the graphics greatly, it lacked the generic gameplay as well as the open world style that fans appreciate so much with racing games.

8. Need for Speed: High Stakes (1999)

Next, in the list of Worst NFS Game comes Need for Speed: High Stakes. It brought in tournament mode and pursuit style racing in Getaway and Time Trap mode. It also introduced racing for pink slips. Players were able to pit their cars against each other.

The loser car was deleted immediately after the race. However, High Stakes failed to generate the hype and was not seen as a high point in the NFS series.

7. Need for Speed: Nitro (2009)

Up next on our list is Need for Speed: Nitro. It was published only on Nintendo hardware. Nitro ditched realism and attempted to make the game all fun and exciting. However, as you continue playing the game, the exciting quickly fades away giving rise to a tedious strain.

Moreover, it offered limited tracks and cars to choose from. Plus, there was no new feature that players could look up to. Nitro also had a shallow campaign. All these factors clubbed together make Nitro feature amongst the worst NFS game.

6. Need for Speed: The Run (2011)

We complete the list of worst Need for Speed Games with The Run. NFS: The Run was crafted quite differently from the rest of the series. It takes a very rigid storyline. Players compete in a cross-country street race from San Francisco to New York and try to avoid both the mob and the police.

You get numerous style races to compete in. They are set in picturesque settings. However, The Run lacks the much-needed replayability and is sadly a short game. You certainly feel that there was more on offer. So, it comes out as one of the worst NFS Game.

Best Need for Speed Games

5. Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed (2011)

The countdown to the best Need for Speed Game begins. Our next entry is the NFS: Shift 2 – Unleashed which was rated as the best track racer. Although Shift 2 packed in no new features, it’s one of the few games in the series that refined itself. Shift 2 primarily focused on making the driving experience more real with an in-car camera view, as well as a helmet cam view.

The helmet cam feature was particularly liked by the racers as it enabled them to move according to the physics of the car and provided tunnel vision. Shift 2 acquired a distinguished title in the series and took on its opponents in the field of legal racing.

4. Need for Speed: Underground (2003)

The next title in the race for the best NFS Game is Need for Speed: Underground. It was touted as the game that took the franchise to the next level. Underground started the extremely popular tuner culture. It offered a storyline and a garage mode. Plus, it offered full customization on both a performance and visual scale.

Underground provided a new racing mode called ‘Drifting,’ where racers get points for sustaining drifts around a circuit against other racers. In fact, Underground started a chain of games that defined the series. It became hugely popular with racers from all around the world.

3. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)

Bagging a very commendable third place is Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. It featured a playable career mode for both the police and racer. The biggest highlight of Hot Pursuit was signing of new developers Criterion who was instrumental in giving a new look to NFS.

The game had immense entertainment value and countless epic moments. Hot Pursuit was the great success in the franchise history and became one of the best-reviewed Need for Speed games of all-time.

2. Need for Speed: Underground 2 (2004)

Need for Speed: Underground 2 bags the much-coveted number two spot amongst the best NFS Games. Underground two offered players the first open world map to play on wherein racers were required to drive to events for activating them.

Underground 2 came with endless content for players which included plenty of customization, a long storyline, interesting side missions, and improved graphics.

Underground 2 also offered players to drive around in SUVs. However, the reason it finishes second in the list of Best NFS Games is that there is no police intervention in an incredible criminal setting. Plus, it involves an excessive amount of driving for accessing certain races.

1. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)

The most coveted number one position is bagged by NFS: Most Wanted (the 2005 version). It’s not just a great racing game but a great game in general. It’s the game where the law enforcers are best used as it includes police pursuits. Most Wanted is known for its toughness.

It involves police chases; various cop car types, swooping helicopter, SUVs, and a variety of roadblocks. It has an interesting storyline, a great collection of cars, well-developed customization, an interactive open world, and lots more. All these features go on to make it the best NFS game of all time.

So, you see there’s a lot in store for you when you drench yourself playing Need for Speed Game. It is excitement, thrill, drama, and adventure awaiting you when you play any of the NFS Games.

Perhaps you might have missed some NFS Games that find a place in this list of 10 Best and Worst Need for Speed Games.

So, it’s time when you try some of these and experience the thrill, excitement, and fun that comes with it. NFS Games hold much promise for every racer out there.